Why should you redesign more?
Designer’s block is real, you don’t have to tell us!
It’s easy to get overworked at the end of the year to the point where you don’t feel inspired at all. Of course, the best way to deal with being tired is to rest. Get a day off, a nice blanket, and a cup of cocoa to forget about every deadline you’ve had to deal with this December.
But if you are already rested enough but still don’t find the courage to take on a new UI/UX design project, try to warm yourself up by doing more redesigns. We know, we know, sounds boring already. You may be asking, why would you need to know how to redesign? How to approach a UI/UX redesign project? Let’s explore this topic together!
Unpredictable Challenges
You don’t have to come up with a new idea every time you want to hone your skills. Sounds crazy but taking a redesign project can be a relaxing and fun project where you have to improve on something already existing, rather than dealing with the blank page syndrome. Choose an app or a website that could be improved or renewed and tweak it to your liking.
You would be surprised how challenging it could be, and how these challenges differ from the ones that you’re dealing with in your working routine. You have to:
- Find an application or a website to redesign. This is the easiest part since as a designer you usually notice design flaws frequently.
- Think about specific screens and components you need to change. It’s also important to think about how these changes would impact the project.
- Be flexible and tweak things along the way. You don’t have any sort of deadline or anyone to report to, be your own boss!
On the other hand, be careful. We know, it’s tempting to start with just Facebook Messenger and then end up with files for all Meta products. Remember that everything is good in moderation!
An Experience To Have
The chances are, you’ll end up in the Meta design team, and get a chance to pitch your ideas for the Facebook Messenger redesign. Wouldn’t you be happy to come prepared?
Jokes aside, you never know what kind of experience you may need to either land a new job or get a promotion at the current one. If one day you’ll get the task of redesigning the application or the website, it’s good to have an idea of how much time you’ll need to deal with it.
You could also get asked a question like this at the job interview. It can be either a trick question to see if you have dealt with redesigns before, or a genuine one, to see what you can suggest. Either way, it’s better to be prepared and know exactly what to look at.
And, by the way, when was the last time you updated your portfolio? A well-done redesign would fit great and perfectly showcase your skills.
How To Approach Redesigns?
If you are a beginner in the UI/UX design field, it’s better to learn some redesign basics from Free sources (like Twitter threads, or Youtube videos) or even get a paid mentorship. If you already have some experience in design but feel like there’s room for improvement, you can start intuitively with practice.
However, there are some sources that could be useful to both, beginners in design, and senior designers to grow further:
- Guide: Website Redesign Strategy — How to Redesign a Website in 2022 (David Martin for UXHACKS)
- YT video: The Mindset and Strategy on How to Approach a Redesign of a Web App or Website — UX Design (Mike Locke)
- YT video: How we redesign apps — learn our secrets (Michal Malewicz)
- YT video: How to redesign a website like a pro (Adrian Twarog)
The main secret: don’t forget to read more case studies and research! The problems with many outdated websites and applications are usually similar, and all solutions are already out there for you to find.
Did we change your mind about redesigns? Let us know in the comments!
Hopefully, you won’t feel too shaken up by the end of the year, and will proudly continue your journey into 2023. And we’ll be always here to support you in your journey. Follow Aaply on Twitter to stay connected.
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